Are we afraid of our own thoughts?

FrownyFaceThis is something I was pondering today as I noticed every single person around me at the club looking at their smart phones. I then thought about how many times I pull it out when I have a few minutes with nothing going on.  From there, I started making a conscious decision to recognize every time I was using the phone and why.

Then it dawned on me. Are we afraid of our own thoughts? What explains the addiction to constantly check email, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.?

The truth is that for me, I certainly have been using my phone way too much. Often I wouldn’t even make it through a movie without checking it. The important revelation for me was that it is easier to play with the phone than to force yourself to deal with silence and pay attention to what you are thinking.

Times have changed. What we have to be aware of is that our kids are watching every move we make. We need to set good examples for them. We need to start putting the phone down when we are together, and for me, I plan to start putting it in the other room so I am not tempted.

Smart phones are great as long as they do not make us dumb in our relationships with others. We need to take time to be fully engaged in conversations with others and set aside some downtime from the phones every day.

The next time you feel the urge to check your phone for no apparent reason, ask yourself, “Am I afraid of my thinking?” Then take the next steps to change it next time.

With gratitude,
Bill

Tony Robbins Top Quotes on Beliefs

TR_Beliefs1This week we have been covering the power of beliefs in our Daily Positive Points emails.  I thought it would be a good idea to share with you some of my most powerful Tony Robbins quotes on beliefs. Most are from his book I am reading, Unlimited Power but also from his new book, MONEY Master the Game.

Enjoy!
With Peace and Gratitude,
Bill

“The best strategy to get around your belief system is to develop a new belief!”
“Beliefs are the compass and maps that guide us toward our goals and give us surety to know we’ll get there.”
“Without beliefs or the ability to tap into them, people can be totally disempowered.”
Why are beliefs so important? @tonyrobbins says it best: “Beliefs can turn on or shut off the flow of ideas.”
“Belief is nothing but a state, an internal representation that governs behavior”
“It [beliefs] can be an empowering belief in possibility-a belief that we will succeed in something or achieve something else.”
“It [beliefs] can be a disempowering belief-a belief that we can’t succeed, that our limitations are clear, intractable and overwhelming.”
“If you believe in success, you’ll be empowered to achieve it.”
“The birth of excellence begins with our awareness that our beliefs are a choice.”
“You can choose beliefs that limit you, or you can choose beliefs that support you. The trick is to choose from beliefs that are conducive to success and the results you want and to discard the ones that hold you back.”
“Belief is the doorway to excellence precisely because there’s nothing divorced or static about it.”
“It is our belief that determines how much of our potential we’ll be able to tap.
“…there’s no more powerful directing force in the human behavior than belief.”
“…human history is the history of human belief.”
“The people who have changed history – whether Christ, Mohammed, Copernicus, Columbus, Edision, or Einstein – have been the people who have changed our own beliefs.”
“To change our own behaviors, we have to start with our own beliefs.”
“If we want to model excellence, we need to learn to model the beliefs of those who have achieved excellence.”
“…even at the level of physiology, beliefs (congruent internal representations) control reality.”

Goals = Success

bonus_2Setting goals are not just a great idea, they are a must!  When you set goals, break them up into smaller steps, and actively work them, you will be successful.  So often people opt out of their goal shortly after identifying them.

It takes tenacity!

It is at times when you feel like doing something that you need to do it even more.  This week I was traveling to Ann Arbor, MI and then to Tampa, FL and was gone Sunday through Friday.   I set a goal on January 1st to complete 30 days where I meet my step goal on my Vivofit device.  The cool thing about the Vivofit is that if you meet your goal, it inches up higher each day.  This means that by the end of 30 days, it will be quite large.  I had achieved 14 days straight and after a long day and a late dinner, I found myself seriously way short of my goal.  I could have quit.  But instead I put on some warm clothes and walked the streets for quite a brisk walk.  I got back to my room only to see that I was still short.  What to do?

After 11:00 PM, I had a decision, just let the goal go.  Heck, I was seriously worn out anyway.  Instead, I decided to do stairs for a couple of rounds – up an down over and over again.  I finally met my goal and went back to my room.  The issue was that I was probably about 3 miles short of my goal and it was after 1o:00 PM.

This is just one of many goals I have set for myself.  I believe one of the biggest goals that I have for myself is to simply be a better me than the day before.  Sometimes I fail miserably but most of the time I feel like I am progressing.  By setting a clear and measurable goal for steps, I am experiencing a success EVERY DA Y!   I have to say it does feel good.

Take time to jot down a few goals and create a positive habit of success.

“Habit is either the best of servants or the worst of masters.” ~ Nathaniel Emmons

With gratitude and peace,
Bill

Stick To It

Today I was in meetings all day and night. I looked down at my fitness tracker only to see I had a serious amount of steps to complete.  Last year I would have chalked it up to the fact that I wasn’t going to be able to meet my target.  That was so 2014!  Not in 2015!  This year, I have set a goal to meet my daily steps every day for a minimum of 30 days.  It is the Jan 14th and I have been successful the previous 13 days.

I got back to my room near 9:00 PM and decided I would simply take a walk.  It ended up being a very long walk.  Every time I looked down, I saw that I was inching closer to my target.  I went even further than I expected.  I got back to the hotel and still had a little bit to go.  I then decided to take the stairs instead of the elevator.  Boy, now that was tough.  After a brisk walk I was already sweating even though it is not that cold outside.  Then climbing the stairs was pretty tough.

A little more walking and I looked down and I had met my goal.  Sweet!  The main thing is to set a goal, keep if focused on your mind, and do whatever it takes to achieve it.

With peace and gratitude,
Bill

Read & Set the World Free

NelsonMandela2Give the gift of literacy and reading this year… one book at a time we can change the world.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”  Nelson Mandela.  Let’s continue Mandela’s vision.

Our world is a better place because of Nelson Mandela.  Forgiveness. Hope. Acceptance. Peace. Community. Empowerment. Literacy. A few of the many global changes that Nelson Mandela inspired.

Literacy is not just about the ability to read and write.  It is also about having the skills to understand what you read, communicate with others and engage fully and confidently in life’s activities and opportunities – at work, at home and in the community. (ABC Life Literacy).

Please consider donating your old books to charities that can benefit from them. Especially children’s books. For middle class kids, they have on average 12 age appropriate books. However, for the underprivileged kids, they have 1 age appropriate book for every 300 kids! WHOA! We have to do something to address that.

If you are interested to see how you can help with this, please send me a direct message. Maybe we can collaborate to make a huge difference this year in children’s lives.

With peace and gratitude,
Bill

Let Go of My Ego

LetgoI started working on building a powerful and unbelievable 2015 at the start of the year.  On my previous blog post, I listed some things I would work on for this year.  I have been keeping a nightly journal of three distinct areas: 1) What have I learned? 2) What successes I had that day & 3) What did I do to serve others?

As I was thinking about these things today, I realized that I need to also work on keeping my ego in check.  I regularly try to remind myself of this but I am sure I forget way too often.  So this year I am making it my intention to “Let go of my ego!”

I pledge this year to not take things too personally as well as becoming aware when my ego shows up.  It certainly sounds easy but I believe through awareness I can make a major positive shift in my life this year.  I believe that we should always be working on ourselves but also not to overdo it.

If you ask these three questions each night to yourself and journal it, amazing things will happen in your life:

  1. What have I learned today?
  2. What successes have I achieved today? (sometimes just getting out of bed is an achievement!)
  3. What did I do to server others today?

Let me know what you think and if you start asking yourself these questions.  Here’s to a breakthrough in 2015!
Love and gratitude,
Bill

 

2015 New Beginnings

2014 is finally over and it got me thinking. What would 2015 be for me? Do I have a choice in what I experience? Of course I do and you do too!

For the past week I have been thinking about resolutions and what new things I want to experience in 2015. Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” That quote has been on my mind for the past week. It got me thinking about what am I planning for 2015.

 

Here are a few ideas I came up with:

  1. Create a “Success & Knowledge Journal” – This is a journal that I will have by my bedside and I will journal each night something that I learned that day. At the end of each month, I will review the items on the list and pick out the top 3 items. From that list, who knows what I will do but I thought it would be fun to make sure to learn something new each day.
  2. Acknowledge my Successes – Each night, I plan to list at least one success of the day. Acknowledging our successes allows us to experience more successes because we are constantly focusing on what we have achieved.
  3. Create a “One Word 2015 Summary” – I have decided to pick one word that will summarize my 2015 year. The word for me is “Breakthrough.”
  4. Practice Visualization Daily – With my One Word 2015 Summary, I am creating an electronic vision board. This vision board will be titled “Breakthrough” I will leave one section of it open so I can put the top 3 successes of the month. A new vision board will be created each month as a result.
  5. Spend more time with family – It is easy for us to get so focused on our goals and sometimes, it can control us. I plan a year of balance and success.

What is your One Word 2015 Summary? What do you plan on doing in 2015 to make it better than 2014? The key is to move forward and I look forward to helping you achieve your goals.

With gratitude and peace!
Bill

Our Past Does Not Equal Our Future

While the past can be a predictor of the future, it doesn’t have to be that way. The past will predict our future when we are not aware enough of our past experiences to learn from them.

I believe that the universe has a funny way of predicting the future. We are all given tests throughout our lives and if we fail those tests, we get to repeat them over and over again until we learn the lesson hidden inside. The good part of this is that we are given endless opportunities to make different choices.  The bad part is that we are given endless opportunities to make different choices. If you are stubborn like me, you get to repeat them lots of times.  However, that was before I started looking at every setback as an opportunity for growth. Almost immediately I started passing those tests and haven’t had to relive them again.

So, how do you not repeat the past? Here are a few tips to get you on the right track for creating a future filled with love, joy, peace, and happiness.

1) Inventory Your Past – Take a few minutes to identify as many setbacks as you can. After you make that list, look for the hidden message held within. Just writing the setbacks down can be liberating as it is acknowledging that there is an opportunity for a lesson to be learned. If you look at the situation long enough, you will see the opportunity.  If you are struggling with finding the opportunity, ask the following question to yourself, “What lesson is in this [situation] for me?”

2) Look for Repeats – After you make a list of the setbacks, take a few more moments to see if they are related to others on the list. I can almost guarantee that there will be. For me, I had a job when I was in college and had a lady there that was negative and challenging. I changed jobs and sure enough, the same person appeared, just a different face. After several years struggling with that relationship, I got a new job in a big city. Within a couple of months, sure enough, the same person appeared in my life. Although she had a different name and face, the traits were identical. I decided to do something different this time and as a result, that personality hasn’t shown up again since and it has been over 16+ years!

3) Change Your Beliefs – A lot of times I see that that the lessons to be learned involve our negative self-limiting beliefs. I wrote an entire blog post about that one and you can click here to go to that post for several ideas about how to change beliefs.

4) Practice Forgiveness – The main reason we are put on this earth is to practice forgiveness. If you think about it, there are many opportunities for forgiveness every single day. When you look at a struggle, offer forgiveness versus blame. When you offer forgiveness, remember to offer forgiveness to yourself. When you do, your life will open up in ways you never thought possible.

5) Take the Kindness Challenge – One way I have been able to change my future is to practice kindness regularly. I even schedule on my calendar! I also update the Kindness Challenge on my website so click here to check out the latest Kindness Challenge. You can log them into your very own kindness meter and are also offered over 200 kind deed suggestions when you register for a free account.

The key to a successful and happy future lies within our ability to acknowledge the past, look for repetition in setbacks, change our beliefs that hold us back while practicing forgiveness daily. Once you have those mastered, practicing kindness daily helps to keep you creating a new, powerful future filled with love and happiness.

With peace and gratitude,
Bill

Breathe Responsibly: 5 Tips to Relaunching Relaxation

bonus4smile
The benefits to relaxing and taking a break are mind boggling. Research has shown that regularly taking a break and enjoying the moment has amazing health benefits when practiced regularly. Some of the benefits include strengthening the immune system, lowering blood pressure, lowering fatigue, lowering your heart rates, eliminating stress and so much more. With the July 4th holiday coming up this week in the USA and Canada day on July 1st, I wanted to offer some ideas on relaxing that you could incorporate into your lives this week.

5 Tips to Relaunch Relaxation in Your Life

  1. Breathe “Responsibly” – Sure, breathing is an unconscious act but breathing on purpose has huge benefits. Taking deep breaths help oxygenate your blood, relieves tension, helps to deal with pain, detoxifies and releases toxins and so much more. One way that I have found that helps me the most is to practice meditation daily. It helps me clear out the clutter in my mind and enjoy the moment. Plan to schedule time to breathe deeply or meditate daily.
  2. Visualize Often – Taking time to visualize what you desire is one of the key ingredients to success. It often provides me clarity when I am searching for an answer. I will visualize the end outcome I want and a lot of times I get a new, great idea that I can implement to make it happen. Take deep, slow breaths and enjoy the visualization knowing you are planting seeds of life’s coming attractions!
  3. Disconnect from the Grid – I learned this lesson when on a short vacation a couple of months ago. I did not bring my computer and chose to stay off my phone for several days. I can tell you that I haven’t been that relaxed in ages. If you feel it is necessary to keep up with social media, work emails, etc., just plan a set time to do this and walk away when you are done. Constantly checking your mobile device can actually cause tension and frustration. Turn off your phone, set it away from your hands reach or put it on silent and enjoy the moment. Take a few deep breaths and
  4. Naturally Nature – One of my favorite things to do is to go outside and enjoy nature. No plans, just observe. Sometimes I like to take my camera and take photos of the beauty around me and it always feels refreshing. Remember to breathe in the peace and tranquility of nature and exhale stress and negativity.
  5. Practice Kindness – I realize that this one might seem like a stretch for relaxation but what I am talking about here is to practice a random kind deed and immediately after, soak in the goodness of the moment. Breathe in kindness and exhale unkindness and negativity. You can even participate in the Give A Little Love Kindness Challenge going on right now!

Enjoy your day and your week. Practice at least 2 to 3 of the tips above and take note how well you feel after each one. Make it a daily routine and enjoy it. Don’t waste time making it a “to do” but rather enjoy the moment each time you practice the tips.

With peace and gratitude,
Bill

 

3 Simple Shifts That Bring Instant Results

What we think about becomes our reality but often we sabotage our thinking by the choice of words we choose. Unfortunately, most of the time this is done on a subconscious level. We need to become aware of our thoughts as this is critical but it dawned on me that that thoughts and words go hand-in-hand. First you think it, and then you say it. But, sometimes it is more like, first you say it and then you think it. Hmmm. Certainly I’m not the only one that has done that, right?

Our choice of vocabulary, conscious or unconscious, plays a major role in our lives. How we use this vocabulary directly affects our health, happiness and success. I offer you 3 simple shifts to help you become aware of the words you choose and create a positive, fantastic life. Using these 3 shifts in your awareness creates instant results.

Shift #1: Become Aware of Negative Expressions of Your Current Emotional State – Well, that is a little long winded but the idea is to catch yourself saying things like, “I’m so tired.” “I can never catch a break.” “Why does this keep happening to me?” If you can take a few minutes each day to process what you have been telling other people, you will see these negative expressions seep out. Here’s a real example in my life. At one point, I was working 100+ hours a week and living and breathing work. I was stressed and not happy. When someone would ask me how I was doing, I had the same immediate response, “I am so overwhelmed.” One morning I caught myself and when I did, I changed it the next time. Later that morning, someone asked me, “How are you doing?” I immediately shifted the negative expression to “I’m super fantastic. Thank you for asking. How about you?” The looks and responses I got was priceless but better than that was my feeling about it. I instantly changed a negative state to a positive one. I still practice this same shift to this day.

Shift #2: Change Your Attitude – It is easy for use to get caught in the struggles of the day. We get up, head to work, get caught in traffic, arrive late for a meeting and the day goes spinning out of control. It doesn’t have to be that way. When you shift your attitude to a positive one, people will be more likely to offer help and show encouragement when thing get tough. One thing that I do to create this instant shift is to use affirmations. Well, they are more of what Tony Robbins refers to as INCANTATIONS. It is a powerful blend of affirmations using emotion, visualization and speaking out loud. The other day I found myself in a crumby state. I started my incantation when taking Rooney for a walk and literally 5-10 minutes later, I shifted from a bad attitude to a very positive one.

Shift #3: Challenge Your Beliefs – Unfortunately many of us have self-limiting beliefs. These will hold us back from experiencing success in our lives. A lot of these beliefs are not even on a conscious level either. One thing I found that can shift me instantly is become aware of my beliefs. A great test for you to try is to become aware what you say immediately after “I am…” What follows that is normally a belief. The next time you catch yourself saying, “I am” take notice of what follows. Their are two quick ways to challenge them. 1) Challenge them by changing the I AM to the complete opposite. So for instance you say, “I am so broke” you could say “I am so rich.” To me this doesn’t work so great because it is too drastic.  However, sometime I will still do it anyway given the right circumstance. 2) Challenge them by changing the I AM to something a little softer. Are you really broke? No, not really. Maybe change it to something like, “I am doing the best I can financially.” You see, it is a little softer but the idea is that you keep working on it until you change the belief that you are abundance and it flows automatically to you.  Before long you will be saying, “I AM a powerful, positive person. Money, love and happiness flows to me in oceans of abundance.”

By shifting your negative expressions you change your emotional state. By shifting your attitude, you feel better and others feel better around you. By shifting your beliefs to something more in line with who you really are, your world will open up to you. Practice these 3 techniques often and watch the success and happiness that follows close behind.

With gratitude and peace,
Bill